Newbie Needs Help Shipping Wheels!

Sorry, I know it’s to late now however, I’m in Columbia, I just moved my daughter from Va. last week.

 

So, Fastenal aka Blue Lane Freight, was difficult to deal with and I spoke with them on the phone for clarity.

From the website they quoted $82.71 per wheel ($330 - store to store delivery), which I thought was fine - point A to point B, right?

Then when I called to verify, there rep Amanda said, "...I couldn't get insurance unless my cargo was crated..." (another $250).

Also the delivery window was 5 - 10 days regardless (and there was no guarantee on that; BIG red letters).

Hmm, okay, so I decided to skip the insurance and the extra $250 for the wooden box.

Then Amanda reminded me that the $82.71 price was just for 1 wheel by itself, not a set of four to be shipped together. "...Because if not shipped together, my gosh, they may not all arrive together and they would less likely to be misplaced...". And shipped together, the price jumped to over $500.

Then they said, "...you just can't roll the suckers on the truck, all 4 needed to be put on a pallet and metal strapped, so they don't damage our other cargo, you see...".

I asked how much that would be and she said, "...we don't provide that service, sweetie.."..

UPS, FedEx, DHL & Fastenal were completely off the table...

Meanwhile with uShip, I'm getting bids to pick them up "as is" and deliver them within a day (insured) for about $475 C.O.D...

Times (and the economy) have certainly changed...

 

Just for reference, I quoted the OP $299.64 for the weight/dimensions provided but noted the the 20" height was driving that and since the tire couldn't be wider than 12" that if that dimension were 12" instead of 20", the price would be $235.52. This was for UPS Ground.

 

Yeah, I got quotes like that from both UPS and FedEx. But when we tried to call them on it in person, the prices soared - once to over $1,300.

I even called UPS (not the UPS store) over and over and over until I got an American in management and she even quoted the highest price; $590 - the other UPS prices were $319, $388, $417 and $488. I asked how the prices could change like that for the exact same delivery info (weight, dimensions, zip code from/to, etc. She said the price should be constant, but couldn't answer as to why the weren't...

 

Idk - Pretty straightforward afaik & that would've been the price. I used to have an account where I got even better rates but these are decent. Glad you were able to make suitable arrangements.

If anyone ever needs help on shipping, feel free to contact me.

 

Shipping is out of control right now. Just shipped 4 tires from Portland Oregon to florida via UPS $353. It was only $10 cheaper at a UPS facility. Fed ex charges more the closer to the weekend.

 

400 miles round trip? Sounds like a fun day trip.

Also that saves the other guy from the hassle of boxing these things up etc.

-BC

 

Dang! Tire & wheel shipping is getting crazy! I remember when UPS would ship tires for $10 a piece. Mounted wheels & tires were just a little more. No boxes required, just a label taped to the tires and mounted wheels & tires would have a round piece of cardboard taped on each side to protect the wheels. And they would be shipped separately. Never had problem...

 

They arrived yesterday, on time and in great shape!